National Collegiate Athletic Association
NCAA News Archive - 2010
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Apr 23, 2010 8:35:27 AM
The NCAA News
When Linda Lappe left Metro State earlier this month to become women's basketball coach at Colorado, it gave Metro State Athletics Director Joan McDermott (left) an opportunity to try something different with the position announcement.
The job requirements contained the following language:
"The successful candidate must be committed to the values embedded within the NCAA Division II Positioning Statement."
As far as McDermott knows, it's the first time that a job notice for coaching has included a stipulation that candidates are expected to support the values of the division they will be representing. For sure, it's the first time Metro State has included such a requirement.
"It makes sense," McDermott said. "If we're Division II, why would we not want to do something like this?"
The requirement would come naturally at Metro State, which has a history of Division II leadership. McDermott served a stint as Division II Management Council vice chair in 2003-04, and President Stephen Jordan recently completed service as chair of the Division II Presidents Council.
In fact, the idea that coaching candidates support Division II tenets came from Jordan.
Applications for the position are being accepted through April 27, so it's too early to determine the effect. However, McDermott likes the fact that the requirement will make a potentially strong field of candidates even stronger.
Strategic role for SIDs?: Division II leadership and the College Sports Information Directors of America have been discussing ways that sports information directors can play a more substantive role in communicating broader messages about the value of affiliating with Division II.
The talks are still in the early stages, but the groups seem to agree that the needs of Division II and the SID community may complement one another.
"We want our member institutions and conferences to make the most of their NCAA membership," said Division II Vice President Mike Racy. "It's a big deal for a school to be able to say that it's an NCAA member, but there's a lost opportunity if you don't follow through and explain what the NCAA membership – and specifically Division II membership – means. Sports information directors are in a unique position to carry this message."
The effort is working in tandem with a CoSIDA rebranding initiative. The organization is attempting to broaden the responsibilities of SIDs and in November 2009 added the phrase "Strategic Communicators for College Athletics" as part of the CoSIDA logo.
The role of Division II SIDs in strategic communication will be discussed in detail at the CoSIDA convention in San Francisco in July.
Northern Kentucky staying put: Northern Kentucky officials announced Wednesday that they are delaying a contemplated move to Division I University until fiscal conditions improve.
The Cincinnati Enquirer reported that President Jim Votruba (left) told a campus gathering that he can't justify the annual cost of up to $3.9 million as the state is reducing the university's subsidies.
"There's no way in the world that I or the board can commit that much with this much uncertainty," Votruba said.
Votruba left open that Northern Kentucky may still move to Division I when financial conditions are improved.
"I still think it is the right move for NKU," Votruba said. "We have facilities now that we didn't have five years ago, and it's a way to brand the university."
Football travel adjustment encouraged: The Division II Championships Committee is conducting a review of how institutions should be charged during Division II championships for additional people on charter flights outside the official travel party.
At the recent Management Council meeting, one athletics director put a sharper focus on the topic, saying that the authorized travel party of 70 for football does not cover what's actually required. He said additional sports information personnel, radio broadcast teams and institutional administrators argue for a higher number.
The Championships Committee will continue to address the issue.
Idea that works: From the game-environment section of www.diicommunity.org:
This year, Franklin Pierce officials introduced Division II's game-environment effort as part of the orientation for the entire freshman class, not just the student-athletes.
After orientation, participants were able to sign a game-environment pledge sheet (similar to the one Division II presidents and chancellors signed in 2008) and receive a Pierce Pride T-shirt.
"We're using this to show everyone what we expect as far as game environment during our athletics contests," said Assistant Athletics Director Daniel Blair (left).
Former Franklin Pierce President George Hagerty, who served as chair of the Division II Presidents Council when the strategic-positioning platform was being developed, was the catalyst for the initiative, which is known as "Pierce Pride." Students in the sports and recreation management program also approached the athletics department about helping to create a better game-day atmosphere for home events.
The program is fairly low-cost (about $1,500 for the T-shirts, in Franklin Pierce's case, plus about $200 for promotional items per event). About 30 days of planning is required to launch the program, with a day or two more for recurring events.